


My Red

by InsidiousEmbers



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Alternate Universe - Coffee Shops & Cafés, Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Coffee Shops, M/M, Romantic Soulmates, Self Confidence Issues, Soulmates
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-27
Updated: 2019-02-27
Packaged: 2019-11-06 12:43:30
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,767
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17939939
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/InsidiousEmbers/pseuds/InsidiousEmbers
Summary: Lance has always had a special bond with his Red. They had been speaking since they knew how to write. Unfortunately, his fears of not being good enough had always prevented him from physically meeting them. He didn't even know their name! However, once he does find out who they are, he also feels the need to meet them.





	My Red

**Author's Note:**

> Ah so this took a while to write but I really like it and I hope you all do as well! It's my first time writing for this fandom, but probably not my last. I hope everyone enjoys!

The air smelled of coffee beans and vanilla. The aroma of the place was comforting, to say the least. An aroma that the young cuban was quite used to at this point, having frequented the shop to study more so than anywhere else on campus. Unlike most other students that retreated to the cafe for a quiet setting, or for the coffee and the pastries, he came only for the kindness of the staff, and per request of his best friends so he wouldn’t continue to forget to eat breakfast due to schoolwork.

Lance was quite used to doing more then he needed to. He often felt as if he needed to work harder to ensure he maintained a high position on the dean's list. There was always someone above him, of course, someone whom no matter how hard he tried he could never beat the marks, someone he has never spoken to, and yet he feels a burning flame lit in his gut whenever he saw the horrendous mullet the guy decided to sport.

After a while of brooding, he rolled his eye and looked down at his wrist. Mullet shouldn’t be taking up so much of his brain, no. He should be focusing on working to keep his grades up, and finding his soulmate. He smiled, a warm feeling taking the place of the fading burn. The concept of someone who was destined to be your other half filled him with butterflies. He had too much experience with rejection, and thinking of someone who might be destined to love him as he is. It filled him with so many warm feelings, amongst those was hope.

_What’s the point._

The words, delicately written on his wrist in a red ink. The handwriting unique, the I’s being dotted with open circles. Whoever they were, they had wonderful handwriting. Lance always admired it. He was aware, however, just how hard it would be to look over everyone’s handwriting and try to match, he was no expert. He’s seen seventeen different girls with similar writing habits, and yet none of them were distinctly _them._

Lance then realized he had been staring at his wrist for almost a minute, and he scrambled to grab a pen. This message wasn’t unusual, Lance’s soulmate was often times quite upset. It worried him, but they haven't stopped responding yet.

_What’s wrong Red?_

He wrote his response, before his attention moved back to his work. He didn’t have much left, but he didn’t want to just stare at his wrist for them to respond. He would look like an idiot, which was something that happened way too often, and it would just be easier to work on the essay for Kolivan’s class so he would be free for the rest of the day. Then, the familiar tingle in his arm made him stop typing to glance down at his wrist once again.

_Got in another fight, then a verbal fight with my best friend._

Lance sighed. His soulmate, Red, was notorious for getting into fights. Something about their ‘inability to control their anger towards some people’, as they put it. No, their name was not actually Red. Lance had given them that little nickname a long time ago, of course because of the color of the writings that would appear on his skin. In return, they would call him Blue.

The two had made a pact, no information that gave away too much. They wanted to find each other, of course, but they wanted it to happen as the universe planned it to. Well, Lance wanted that. Red didn’t really seem to see the point, but they respected his wishes nonetheless. He only knew the basic information about his soulmate. They were about his age, about a year older, their favorite color was appropriately red, they lived with their best friend and his fiance, they got into frequent fights and they were a tad bit emo. They sounded amazing to Lance, although nothing like the girls he would usually go for.

“Lance!” A soft voice called from the counter. Lance looked up to meet eyes with Allura, someone that he had become somewhat friends with the more he came to the shop. She was a beauty, that’s for sure, and lucky enough to have already met her soulmate long ago. Although, she speaks of him with slight sorrow in her tone, so Lance finds it best not to ask for the time being. He stands and walked over to the counter, taking his drink and flashing her a flirty smile. She, of course, responded with the same soft laugh and slight shake of her head as always. At this point, they were both aware he was flirting more so as just a joke.

He felt his wrist tingling once again, remembering that he hadn’t, in fact, responded to the previous statement that Red had made. He walked back over to the table he had chosen, one sat right against the window at the front of the store, and glanced back at his arm to see the new message.

_S has been so busy, planning the wedding and going out with friends like a normal adult man would. I feel like I’m intruding._

S was the letter that Red had decided to use when referring to his best friend. Lance had picked up on, at this point, how important S’s friendship was to Red. So it sent a pang straight to his heart to hear that they were feeling such a way. Although, not unusual. Along with all of the other things, Red was insecure and unable to convey emotion as well as he would like to.

_Why don’t you talk to him?_

Lance knew what the answer would be, what it always was. Red would do anything and everything to avoid emotional confrontation. It made him wonder what it would be like, to meet him and deal with his soulmate being emotionally closed off.

_I can’t. Even if I wanted to, he’s at work and I’m at home alone with A._

A was S’s fiance. It was all quite confusing, with all of the different codes and acronyms that they had chosen for those closest in their life. Living with it seemed to make it easier to understand, though. He knew all of the acronyms Red had made up by heart, even if there were only a few close people in their life.

_Then why don’t you try to talk to A?_

There was a pause, a lull in the response time. It was actually a good bit of time, enough time for Lance to finish what he was working on and pack up all of his things, of course leaving a pen in his pocket as he often times did, in case he needed to speak with Red. He turned and waved to Shiro, who was working at the counter, as well as Allura, who was still working with making the drinks. They both smiled and waved back as Lance left the shop for the day. He felt his wrist tingle, but since he was in public he decided to just walk to his apartment building before he checked what was written to him. Once standing in the elevator, he looked down at his wrist.

_You already know I can’t. Not when S isn’t here._

Lance sighed. He was obviously expecting that answer, he knew that they weren’t one hundred percent comfortable with opening up feelings wise. S made it easier, but they still complained about having to do so quite often. He figured it was worth a try to suggest, although he knew he was foolish for expecting any other answer.

_Alright. Then text one of your newer friends. P?_

The elevator dinged, causing him to look up and slip the pen back into his pocket and walking out and into the long empty fourth floor hallway. As he was walking down the hallway to his dorm. His wrist began to tingle once again, and he figured that Red must’ve been focusing mostly on their conversation, which they often did when they were having a hard time emotionally. He unlocked his door, glancing down at his wrist.

_Yeah. I did. We’ll have to see if they’re free to talk._

_I wish I could just call you._

Lance froze up slightly. As much as he would love to call Red, he was nervous. There was no telling if they would even like him. What if they don’t like freckles, or his messy hair? If he’s too flirtatious, he knows how they are about emotions and his over emotional personality may be too much for them. He was scared, scared that Red may not like him. Then they would stop talking, and the hole in his heart would grow cold and empty once again.

“Hey buddy!” The warm, caring voice caused him to look up as he walked into the apartment. It smelled now of fresh cookies and melted chocolate, bringing a smile to the cuban’s face. His best friend’s baking always calmed his nerves. He set down his bag and took of his shoes, flashing a smile to Hunk.

“Hi Hunk. What’s the occasion?” He walked into the kitchen area and pulled out a stool from the counter.

Another familiar voice came from behind Lance, causing him to jump ever so slightly. “He’s stressed about an exam he just took. You know how he is, he stress bakes.”

“Pidge, I didn’t know you were here too. You scared the shit out of me, by the way.” He smirked down at them as they sat on a stool next to him.

“Maybe grow some balls.” They stuck their tongue out before looking down at their phone.

Lance rolled his eyes and glanced down at his wrist. He was hoping that Red would update him on if P was able to talk, otherwise he would feel bad for leaving him without a response for too long.

_They can talk. I won’t bother you anymore._

Shit, he fucked up again. He knew that although Red wasn’t the best with emotions, he was extremely sensitive at times. He hadn’t responded in the right way, and now Red was upset. He hurriedly grabbed his pen from his pocket and went to respond, his face most likely filling with panic.

_No! Red, I’m sorry. I just got back to my apartment. I’m sorry._

“What’s wrong, buddy?” Hunk glanced at his panicked friend, placing the cookies onto a plate. “Is everything alright?”

“O-oh, yeah.” Lance cleared his throat and put his pen away once more.

“Got hard core rejected by Allura once again?” Pidge snickered.

“Shut up, Gremlin.” He rolled his eyes again. “Red is upset.”

“Ah. I see.’ Hunk smiled comfortingly at his best friend, pushing the plate of cookies towards him. Lance took one and began to nibble on it half heartedly.

“Hey, my friend is feeling pretty down too. Can I take him some cookies, Hunk?” Pidge put their phone into their sweatshirt pocket.

“Of course! I’ll put some in a tupperware for him!” He shifted around the kitchen to grab a container to put the cookies in.

Lance glanced back at his wrist, receiving no response. He sighed, his shoulders dropping as he realized he wouldn’t be getting a response back. He picked up his cookie and walked to his room, being watched by Pidge and Hunk as the door is shut behind the latino. He walked over and sat on his bed. He glanced over to his computer, closing his eyes as he felt the anxiety overtake him. He grabbed his pen and scribbled it down, rubbing his forehead.

_Sxy_Sharpshooter. On skype. Tonight, 9:30._

Lance breathed out a sigh, he couldn’t take it back now. He would just wait until 9:30 to see if they even wanted to talk with him anymore. He was terrified, to say the least, so he would insist that they would only use audio until he could confirm that Red would like who he really was. It was easier to test it out, see if Red even wanted to continue to speak to him, then they could move forward.

Nine o’clock came faster then Lance would’ve liked. Hunk was curious as to why his best friend was freaking out so badly, but for once in his life Lance had his mouth shut tight. Around nine fifteen Lance shut himself into his room and paced around, mumbling to himself in spanish. He hadn’t received anything from Red after writing his skype name, and that caused the self conscious anxiety to bubble up within him. After he heard the ping of his laptop at about 9:26,  he held his breath and ran over to his desk, opening his laptop and plugging his headphones in with shaky hands.

**Samurai.K would like to add you on Skype**

Lance held his breath as he hovered his mouse over the blue accept button. 9:27. They’re waiting. He never expected this to be so hard. His main concern was not being good enough. He knew he would never be good enough. He just hoped he wouldn’t lose the person he was destined to be with, romantic or platonically. This person was his other half. What if he was too annoying, even for them? He clicked accept.

 **Sxy_Sharpshooter:** Hi Red.

 **Samurai.K:** Hello Blue.

 **Samurai.K:** We are going to call, right? A and S are going to drag me to watch a movie at 10.

 **Sxy_Sharpshooter:** Yeah! Yeah totally we’re calling ha just uh no camera lmao.

 **Samurai.K:** Fine by me.

 **Sxy_Sharpshooter:** For now at least, I’m sure we can work our way up to it and stuff.

 **Samurai.K:** Yep. Calling now.

Lance gasped slightly as the familiar skype calling music filled his headphones. He was sweating, holy shit. This is actually happening right now. He is actually about to answer a call from his soulmate. He clicked the answer button and held his breath.

“Hello?” The voice of a male. The strangely familiar voice of a male. Lance’s eyes went wide. He always knew his soulmate may have been a boy, but he figured that his preference for girls meant they would be a girl. He was in no way disappointed, just surprised, but what if he didn’t like boys? Now he’s really going to be dissapointed.

“Hola- ah, um Hello.. Ah Hi, I-” He stuttered. Great, already fucking up on the first line. The laughter that followed his fumbling made him pause and stare at the screen with a soft blush. Red had a really beautiful laugh, it warmed his heart to hear.

“Someone’s nervous. That’s cute and all, but we’ve been talking since I learned how to write.” Red snickered more, causing Lance to bite his lip, “I’m not sure why you’d be nervous to talk to someone you’ve been talking to for years.”

“Adding voices is incredible different, mierda..” He breathed out a small chuckle.

“Spanish?”

“Sí, Soy cubano.” He flashed his famous flirtatious smirk, forgetting he was not visible to the boy he was speaking to.

“Ah, very interesting.” Lance could hear the smile in Red’s voice somehow and it made him smile himself. He knew how sad Red had been as of late, it felt nice to have a normal, happy conversation. He wanted to make his soulmate happier. He wanted to hear that laugh on repeat for hours.

They spoke for an hour, to Lance it only felt like a few minutes. Red was so easy to talk to. He had a knife collection, which was quite concerning to Lance until he listened to Red talk about it with so much passion and excitement. Lance told him about his shell collection made up of shells he collected to from the beach in his hometown.  S actually didn’t come in until 10:30, and when he did Lance froze in his seat.

“Keith, c’mon. Adam and I have been waiting for a half hour.” The voice Lance instantly assigned to Shiro came out clear as day through the call. Lance figured he probably gasped out loud as Red- Keith suddenly growled in anger.

“Fuck off! Fuck off fuck off fuck off!” He stood and Lance could hear him walking away from his computer. Lance slammed his laptop shut once he regained control of his motor functions. His mind was racing, his heart was beating a mile a minute. There was no way in hell that Keith Kogane was his soulmate. There was no way in hell that that show off asshole was the same person he had been in love with for years. There was no way that that hot head had the capacity to be as sweet as his Red was.

Lance sat, stunned in his chair. He knew he recognized the voice. He hadn’t spoken to Keith enough to remember his voice by heart, but now it was clear as day. He was shaking. Now he knew his soulmate wouldn’t like him. Kogane hated his guts. Every single time he spoke in class he earned a death gaze from the emo with the stupid mullet. He was hopeless, he was a lost cause. He stood and walked over to his bed, falling limp into it and staring at his ceiling. He felt his wrist tingle, and ignored it for as long as he could. When it didn’t stop after a few seconds he hesitantly looked down at it.

_Blue what happened?_

_Did you hear my name? Do you know who I am?_

A third line was forming as he looked at his wrist. He sucked in a breath and read as Keith wrote.

_You know who I am then. And you’re disappointed. Well, sorry._

He didn’t respond.

* * *

 

The next day in class, Lance was a mess. He had forgotten his skin care routine the night before amidst his pity party. He also hadn’t bothered with his hair, so his messy curly bed head was left an untamed mess. He hadn’t cared much to pick out an outfit that looked nice. Hunk and Pidge seemed rather concerned but decided not to say anything.

When Keith walked in, Lance realized he wasn’t the only one. The bag under Keith’s eyes had gotten darker, if that was even possible. His stupid mullet had gotten even messier, and he somehow looked even paler. After seeing that sight, Lance felt horrible for not talking to him. He was scared, sure, but that wasn’t any reason to leave his Red alone for a night. Even if his Red is… Keith Kogane. He grabbed a pen and began to write, Pidge and Hunk eying him from where they sat next to him.

_I know you. You know me. The issue is you hate me._

Lance glanced back to watch Keith glance at his wrist with wide eyes. Well that confirms it, as if Lance needed any more confirmation. Keith seemed so relieved to have gotten a response from him, it warmed his heart. Keith really liked talking to ‘blue’ so much, it was really cute. Too bad it’ll all be destroyed when he finds out who Blue is. Keith grabbed his pen and hastily wrote something, causing Lance’s wrist to tingle. He turned back and Pidge gasped slightly. He glared at them and shushed her before glancing at his wrist.

_Maybe you just annoyed me and I came off too harsh? You know I’m bad with emotions. Plus, even if I did hate you in real life all would be forgotten because you’re blue._

Lance’s face lit up dark red. For someone who wasn’t good with emotions, he sure was great at making the cuban fall apart. Pidge snickered from the side of him and Hunk tilted his head in confusion. They whispered the explanation and Hunk then gasped, causing Lance to groan in annoyance. Lance ignored his asshole friends and wrote his response.

_I go to your school. I’ll meet you at lunch at Altea Cafe._

Lance heard another gasp, although this time it came from behind him. He turned to see a look of pure surprise on Keith’s face as he stared at his wrist. It made him smile ever so slightly. Although he had broken every single rule had set between them in the past twenty four hours, he was only slightly terrified of what was to come when Kogane figured out it was him. He knew he was kidding himself, at least, he knew that he would simply be rejected, possibly even punched. He then scribbled another note underneath the invitation to lunch.

_Please don’t punch me._

Lance then decided to actually focus on the lecture that was occurring. Although it was boring, he decided it would be better than obsessing over the new realization that Keith was his soulmate. He knew that he was getting looks from Pidge, he could feel them smirking without even having to look over. Hunk, bless his heart, sat quiet and decided to leave Lance alone about the situation for the time being, although the latino knew he would incur a line of questioning once they have free time.

Classes until lunch went surprisingly smooth, at least Lance assumed they did as he was zoned out for most of the time. Pidge was babbling on about a certain someone they met the other day, then they glanced at Hunk, expecting him to contribute to the conversation. He spoke of a girl he met at a floral arrangement shop, the girl had happened to be his soulmate. Lance smiled and gave him a congratulatory side hug before the conversation had been shifted to focus on the boy himself.

“So. Kogane, eh?” Pidge snickered evilly, “You know, I just went over there yesterday. Makes me wonder if you were all gloomy cause he was in a bad mood.”

“Aye, shut it midget.” Lance glared at her, “What are you two doing for lunch?”

“Same as always.” Hunk smiled sweetly and motioned towards the cafeteria.

“Well I have to go-” Lance was rudely cut off by the four foot nothing gremlin that apparently has decided that teasing him was their main life goal at the moment.

“Meet up with KeithHhhH~! He texted me that his soulmate was finally allowing a meeting. What changed then, huh? A call and a meeting the next day? Someone’s getting thirsty?” Pidge had a clear teasing tone in their voice, and yet it cut right to Lance’s core.

“Just let me deal with it.” With that, he turned and walked off. He knew his annoyance was unjustified, his friend was just messing with him, but he was on edge as it is. Nobody but him knew why he had pushed off meeting Red for so long, and nobody needed to know either. He was Mr. Bigshot, flirts with everything that walks, practically oozes confidence. He’d be seen as a joke if he brought up even the mention of confidence issues. He brooded, his hands buried deep in his pockets as he stared at the ground for the entire walk to Altea.

Once he arrived, he saw Shiro speaking to Keith. He smiled slightly, he could already tell what the talk was about. Shiro had this innocently surprised look on his face as he presumably made Keith’s drink, Allura was now working behind the register. Lance paused before walking in. He could always just avoid this, pretend he never came here and live his life without a soulmate. The latter of the two outcomes still was a possibility even if he did walk in. His fate was sealed, however, when Allura waved at him through the glass door, causing Keith to look up.

Lance groaned and pushed the door in, walking over to Allura and ordering the same drink he always did. He ignored Keith for the time being, it was the easiest course of action until he could figure out what he was going to. Out of the corner of his eye, he watched as the brooding, scary emo boy he had developed a jealous vendetta against take his drink and walk to a table that was tucked in the corner of the shop. Lance just shook his head with a soft smile, that action in itself was so much like his Red. He walked over to where Shiro was now making his drink.

“Ah, Hello Lance. What brings you here for lunch? Just wanna fit some studying in?” The taller man gave a kind smile.

“Meeting my soulmate..” He spoke in a hushed tone so nobody other than the man he was speaking to would be able to hear what he said.

“What?!” The man’s dark grey eyes were now blown wide, and his outburst had cause Keith to glance up from the table where he was hiding.

“Shhh, Shut up, he doesn’t know it’s me yet..” Lance glanced at his shoes, “I know it’s hard to believe, It took me a while to really accept the universe hadn’t made a mistake, since ya know I’m not on his level on any aspect whatsoever and I-”

“Lance, I’m not surprised. Now that you bring it up, it makes a lot of sense. Now go on, he’s been mad at me since yesterday for exposing his identity and he was only speaking to me because you decided to meet him.” Shiro handed Lance the drink he had ordered. Lance nodded and took a breath, trying to gather up whatever shreds of courage he had left.

Lance began to walk to the table Keith was at, causing the black haired boy to glance up. When the cuban set his drink down, Keith looked annoyed. It was only a few seconds later that Lance could see the gears turning in the pale boy’s head before realization dawned over his features, as if all of the puzzle pieces fell together right in front of him. To Lance’s surprise, Keith jumped up and hugged him instantly. Now, he didn’t know Keith much, but he knew that both him and Red weren’t hug people by any means, so he was very much caught off guard.

“You’re telling me that the only person who has been here for me, for my entire life. Through everything I’ve had to deal with. Was the annoying and obnoxious kid in my English class.” Keith’s voice cut the silence, and the remark made Lance scowl.

“Imagine my surprise that my soulmate was the asshole emo with the mullet.” He growled, although he didn’t have the heart to be truly mad.

“Fuck off about my hair. I have spoken to you a total of three times in person and you have brought it up every time.” Keith pulled out of the hug with a half hearted glare at Lance.

“I just have good taste in haircuts, and the realization that we do not in fact live in the 80’s.” He crossed his arms and popped his hip out slightly. Keith just stared at him for a few seconds before a small smile overtook his face. He pulled him back in for a hug.

“I suppose we should do this right?” He mumbled into the hug, “I mean I’m not quite sure how to do it ‘right’. I’m not really sure about anything in this situation.”

Lance chuckled, “Well we can name this our first date. That is of course if you want this to be romantic. We can do platonic too, that’s totally cool. My friend Pidge has a platonic soulmate, I think that’s awesome. Oh wait, you know Pidge, aha I forgot-” Lance was cut off by a pair of soft lips brushing against his own. He quickly kissed back, grabbing onto Keith’s shoulders in slight surprise. Once they pulled away, Keith had his familiar angry looking expression but his cheeks were dusted red.

“You talk to much.” He crossed his arms. “Stop thinking so hard and sit down. Idiot.” Keith sat back down at his table and Lance couldn’t help but laugh. He had been speaking with Red for a long time, he was accustomed to his strange ways of expressing emotions. He never thought it would be so easy to deal with in real life, however. Although, he figured that the two would be easily able to develop a relationship, considering that they had been talking for around fifteen to sixteen years.

“Alright Red.” He sat down and smiled, knowing that despite their differences, this was still his Red and Lance was still his Blue.


End file.
